# E. J. Liddell

Eric "E. J." Liddell Jr. (/lɪˈdɛl/ lih-DEL); born December 18, 2000) is an American professional basketball for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

## Early life

Liddell was raised in Belleville, Illinois, and went to high school at Belleville High School-West. He averaged 20.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a junior, won the 2018 Illinois Mr. Basketball award, shared the 2018 St. Louis Post Dispatch Player of the Year with Courtney Ramey, and won the Illinois 4A class state championship. As a senior, he averaged 20.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. For the second year in a row, he won Illinois Mr. Basketball, the St. Louis Post Dispatch Player of the Year, and the Illinois 4A class state championship.
Liddell was a consensus four-star recruit and ranked the best player in the state of Illinois. On October 1, 2018, Liddell committed to playing college basketball for Ohio State over scholarship offers from teams such as Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| E. J. Liddell PF | Belleville, IL | Belleville West (IL) | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Oct 1, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 41 247Sports: 60 ESPN: 38 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Ohio State 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021. "2019 Ohio State Buckeyes Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021. ||||||

## College career

Liddell came off the bench during his freshman year, averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He played in all 31 games and was second on the team with 29 blocks. He had a double-double in a win against Illinois.
During the early parts of his sophomore season, he contracted mononucleosis, which led to Liddell being out for several games. He had another good game against Illinois during his sophomore year, scoring a season-high 26 points in a win. Liddell averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game during his sophomore season. After Ohio State's Round of 64 loss to Oral Roberts, Liddell received threats from basketball fans via social media. After he posted screenshots of the threats on Twitter, Ohio State reached out to law enforcement regarding the threats.
On March 31, 2021, Liddell declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility. He later withdrew from the draft and announced that would return to Ohio State for his junior season. On January 9, 2022, Liddell scored a career-high 34 points in a 95–87 win against Northwestern. He was named to the First Team All-Big Ten. As a junior, he averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. On March 25, 2022, Liddell declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

## Professional career
### New Orleans Pelicans / Birmingham Squadron (2022–2024)

Liddell was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. During an NBA Summer League game against the Atlanta Hawks on July 11, 2022, Liddell suffered a torn ACL. On October 16, he signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans.
On July 6, 2023, Liddell signed a multi-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
On July 6, 2024, Liddell, Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller (via sign-and-trade), a 2025 first-round pick (via Lakers), and a conditional 2027 first-round pick were traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Dejounte Murray. On July 29, he was subsequently traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for David Roddy and on August 27, he was waived by Phoenix.

### Chicago / Windy City Bulls (2024–present)

On September 7, 2024, Liddell signed with the Chicago Bulls, with the Bulls later converting his deal to a two-way contract on October 19.

## Career statistics
### NBA
#### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2023–24 | New Orleans | 8 | 0 | 2.9 | .167 | .000 | 1.000 | .6 | .1 | .3 | .3 | .5 |
| Career | Career | 8 | 0 | 2.9 | .167 | .000 | 1.000 | .6 | .1 | .3 | .3 | .5 |

#### Playoffs

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2024 | New Orleans | 1 | 0 | 2.5 | — | — | — | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | Career | 1 | 0 | 2.5 | — | — | — | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |

### College

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2019–20 | Ohio State | 31 | 0 | 16.6 | .464 | .192 | .718 | 3.8 | .5 | .4 | .9 | 6.7 |
| 2020–21 | Ohio State | 29 | 29 | 29.4 | .474 | .338 | .746 | 6.7 | 1.8 | .7 | 1.1 | 16.2 |
| 2021–22 | Ohio State | 32 | 32 | 33.2 | .490 | .374 | .765 | 7.9 | 2.5 | .6 | 2.6 | 19.4 |
| Career | Career | 92 | 61 | 26.4 | .480 | .341 | .749 | 6.1 | 1.6 | .5 | 1.6 | 14.1 |